


Monachopsis

by KristinStone



Series: Living and Breathing in Flint [6]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Age Difference, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Implied/Referenced Affair, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Nesting, Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Two POVs, city girl, country boy, unhappy Ariel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-06-21 09:56:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15555192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristinStone/pseuds/KristinStone
Summary: ***This story is discontinued for the time being***It’s an old, fateful deal that costs Ariel the most important choice of her life, that of a mate. As an eighteen year old Omega from Flint, having been blessed with the best education anyone could get, the whole world should lay at her feet, but the debts her father made five years ago come back to haunt her now.When she and Joel meet for the first time, none of them is too thrilled, but the Alpha would be a fool not to take his chance on an Omega, basically for free. Ariel loses her home and has to move into the countryside to live in a stranger’s house and a whole town watching her every step while her “mate” is busy with his own family struggles and the consequences of his most recent past.





	1. Payment

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone new and everyone who has been following my work for a while now.
> 
> I will repeat here the same I did in front of my last books:  
> My personal universe !!!DOES NOT INCLUDE!!! female Alphas, male Omegas, mpreg or werewolves otherwise I would've tagged them above. If you are searching for any of those things and only want to read about these topics I am sorry to say that they are not present in my personal take on the ABO genre. I am sure you will find a lot of hot and steamy pieces you'll like better on ao3. Happy hunting.
> 
> This story, although not mainly taking place in the American, non-existent metropolis Flint, is still part of my Living and Breathing in Flint-series. You do not have to read the stories in the uploaded order to understand the world and/or the characters.
> 
> Should you be searching for something that gets down and dirty quickly, I will repeat here one of the tags to avoid impatient/annoyed comments later on: "SLOW BURN". Pleaase keep that in mind. I don't write smut, I write stories with sex in them.
> 
> The rating, as already tagged, is for later purposes.
> 
> Now for everyone who actually ready my notes this far, thanks you. I wish you a very good read and I am excited to find some of my previous readers among the kudos and comments again. And now: enjoy.
> 
> P.S. I don't know how regularly I will upload new chapters since I started working full time and therefore I don't have as much time to write as I used to.

   MonαchΩpsis   

 

1\. Payment

 

He was downstairs, right now. Ariel could hardly believe it, still. Right this second her father sold her to a total stranger and she was forced to stay up here in her room like a stupid child. She was eighteen, a grown, intelligent woman with a diploma from the most prestigious Omega academy in the whole country, the Trozensky Institute for Omega Education. It would’ve allowed her to be accepted at any college she chose. If only she hadn’t been born an Omega.

When the doorbell rang a second time that afternoon, she startled up. Anger burned in her guts as she made her way to the darl landing at the top of the stairs, but she stopped when she heard unfamiliar voices and a strange mixture of scents crawled into her lungs.

Cows, tobacco, leather, and men. At least one of them was an Alpha. His unknown scent almost overshadowed the other smells he carried into her home like mud on his shoes, but she could still detect them in the air as she stayed hidden at the upper floor galery, peering down into the foyer. Their maid Maggie asked the two men to wait until her father had time to speak with them, and left them alone in the entrance hall.

The taller one had his arms crossed over his broad chest, the simple grey t-shirt clinging to his bulging muscles underneath. His auburn curls were a chaotic mess while his full beard was trimmed meticulously.

Ariel hated him already. This had nothing to do with his appearance or scent which was actually the most attractive part on him, but simply the fact that he was probably the one she was bought for and that already brought her blood to a boil. Her hands closed around the galery’s banister until her knuckles turned white.

The smaller man was undoubtably a relative, perhabs a younger brother or cousin. They had the same dark red hair, but this one was still on his way to a full grown beard, currently only sporting hefty stubbles. He extended his hand to reach for a bronze statue of Michaelangelo’s David on the small side table but his brother slapped his hand away right before he could touch the statue.

“If you break it, you can forget the new truck,” he hissed and shook his head as he let his eyes wander around the mahogany paneled foyer.

“This little thing should be worth a truck? No way.”

“You’re an idiot if you think it doesn’t cost at least two. This is a different league, Kyle. People like these buy expensive shit they don’t need to collect dust just so their maids have to clean them every day.”

He wasn’t wrong about that part. Ariel shook her head, slowly regarding the useless statue her stepmother had insisted on buying shortly after she had returned from the institute.

“This is bullshit,” the Alpha suddenly growled and dropped his hands to his hips, “look at the place. If that guy wanted to pay his debt, he could. No fucking way is he so poor that giving away her guardianship is the only valuable thing he has.”

“Maybe he just wants to get rid of her,” the younger one, Kyle, suggested and tore right through Ariel’s heart. She suspected that too since she knew that there was still money on the bank. Hell, her faher had just bought a new yacht for him and her stepmother.

Speaking of the devil, Ariel sighed internally when she heard the clicking of Donna’s high heels on the marble floors. The two men turned around to the source of the noise and their relaxed bodylanguage changed as if they had been struck by lightning. All of the sudden they stood as stiff as boards, charming -obviously fake- smiles on their thin lips, and their hands crossed behind their backs. They greeted Donna politely, the younger even tapped his invisible head. Farmers, Ariel’s internal voice hissed full of venom. She had always lived in or around Flint. Animals larger than a dog she only knew from pictures or videos.

“I know this is not an ideal situation but I’m certain my stepdaughter and you will lead as much of a happy life as my husband and I do.”

Only that nodoby had sold her to her father. She’s been his assistant long before they had married. Donna had no idea what she was talking about. Ariel’s heart picked up speed again at the thought that she and this ruggy stranger were supposed to be a couple. For fuck’s sake, she didn’t even know when she would have to move to him. Nobody had told her to pack her things… not that she would actually do it.

Ariel shook her head and wanted to return into her room when she suddenly heard the shrill voice of Donna again, “Ah, there you are, my darling. Come downstairs and say hello.”

I would rather be eaten by an aligator, she wanted to say, but remained silent and came down half the stairs, her eyes glued to the carpeted steps.

“Hello,” Ariel said and got ready to turn around again before Donna cleared her throat. She had no desire to get another prep talk on how to behave in front of guests the minute they were gone again, so she descended the rest of the stairs and stopped next to Donna like the “proper lady” she was supposed to be.

“I’m very pleased to meet you,” Ariel lied and lifted her gaze up to the tall stranger’s face. He looked angry as he studied her features out of his deep blue eyes. Obviously she wasn’t his type or maybe he was irritated that she dared to speak like an intelligent human being. His ideal woman was probably be as hollow as hey and willing to breed like a stupid cow whenever his pants grew tight. Disgusting!

“Pleased to meet you too, sister-in-law,” the younger one said and repeated the hat gesture all while smiling like an idiot.

“Her name is Ariel,” Donna told them and softly swiped a strand of Ariel’s honeyblonde hair over her shoulder, something she only ever did to show off her long neck and untouched claming mark. Thankfully Ariel had decided on wearing a turtleneck today or they would’ve gotten a million dollar look of one of her most intimate body parts.

She stepped away from her stepmother and shot her an angry glare. How dare she? Wasn’t it enough that her father was just selling her to a stranger, did she have to be presented like easy prey at that?

The nameless Alpha seemed displeased with her reaction. A bad omen even before he had said a single word to her. Somebody should say something, but she definitely wasn’t the one. If Ariel had anything to say in this whole farce, she would go to Yale or become a photographer like she always wanted to be or do anything that would enable her to earn her own money.

But just as the silence between the four people stretched out to an uncomfortable level, the door to her father’s study opened and two grey haired Alphas stepped into the foyer.

“So, we have a deal then. I will speak with my daughter and send her to your nephew in two days,” her father said before his eyes met Ariel’s. The shame she had hoped to see didn’t come, only a slight hint of irritation because she had left her room without permission. Ariel had already heard what she needed and left without giving any of the men who seemed to have the birthright to govern over her life another glance. She threw the door to her room shut with a loud bang just as her father called her to come downstairs again. Ariel couldn’t care less what he wanted, just like he wasn’t interested in her opinion.

Instead of her father, it was the maid who knocked on her door few minutes later.

“Go away,” Ariel hissed and pulled her plush lion closer to her chest as she sat on the bed, sulking.

“I think you could’ve gotten it worse, to be honest.”

“Yeah? How about you tell me that again when you are forced out of your home.”

Maggie sat down on the edge of the bed and thought for a moment before she tried again, “Your parents told me to leave in three days. I worked here for the last five years, so in a way I am forced to leave my home too and unlike you, I have no idea where I will end up. I can only hope to find a new job and place to stay quickly. I have no money to rent a flat or even get something to eat. Your dad hasn’t paid me in three months.”

“But he had enough money to buy a new yacht,” she reminded her and shook her head deeply disappointed in her father. She couldn’t fathom how he could let her live with some stranger as if she meant nothing to him. If her mother were still alive, none of this would’ve happened.

“I don’t know why he did that, but from what I saw while cleaning his study, the money wouldn’t have been enough to pay back his debt to Mr. McKenzie anyway.”

“How much are we talking?” Ariel asked carefully.

“Something around 20 million.”

Ariel stared at the maid wide eyed. “And that guy simply gave dad his money?”

“Apparently your father approached his late brother already five years ago and tried to sell the estate in Bulter County-“

“Mom’s estate?” Ariel interrupted her incredulously. She remembered when she was little, she and her mother sometimes spent the weekends out in the countryside without her father. “But-“

“I’m sorry, Ariel.”

So, she had lost another place of her childhood, another thing that had connected her to her mother. Eversince she had died, Ariel had worked hard to curate the memories she’d still had of her, but bit by bit she lost her a second time.

Without saying a word Maggie stood up and started packing the contents of Ariel’s dresser and wardrobe into the giant suitcases from the hall closet. Ariel only pulled her plush lion closer to her chest and buried her nose in his mane, sucking in the faint traces of her mother’s scent still left in it.

Fuck her father, fuck Donna, and fuck her new “owner”.

Ariel wouldn’t play along. Nobody could force her and if somebody tried, she would go to the police immediately. She was a human being with a mind of her own and not some plaything or breeding mare just because of her genes. When would the world finally see Omegas for what they actually were; mothers and wives, but also people, just like every Beta woman.

“I will not submit to him,” she whispered to herself like a mantra.

 

* * *

“She looked less than thrilled,” Kyle said as soon as he and his brother were in the jeep again. Their uncle had wordlessly entered his own car and was already heading back home. Needless to say that he wasn’t thrilled that his nephews hadn’t listened to him earlier this morning when he had ordered them to stay home.

“Can you blame her? Would you like to be sold to a stranger?”

“Nah, don’t think so.” Kyle glanced at his older brother and grinned into his cheek. “You didn’t look happy either.”

“She’s a child.”

“She’s eighteen. I’m eighteen.”

“You’re also still a child,” Joel huffed and pulled out of the driveway of his soon-to-be father-in-law, the gravel scrunching beneath the tires.

“Mum married dad with eighteen.”

“Wrong, granddad bought her for dad when she was eighteen.” And now history was basically repeating itself. Joel had as litte say in the matter as Ariel. The anger in her scent had burned in his lungs. Not a very pleasant smell but an understandable one when she was practically given away as payment for debts.

“Her stepmom looked hot. The old man is lucky in that regard,” Kyle murmured to bring his brother out of his head again.

Joel have him an arched eyebrow. “She was painted like a cheap whore.”

“I wouldn’t call her cheap, but-“

“You like the whore-look on women? Should I call Daisy and spill some info about that?”

Kyle’s face scrunched up into a disgusted grimace and he shivered slightly, thinking of the old “promiscuous” lady from their home town. She was infamous for… helping boys making their first experiences before they could embarrass themselves in front of their girlfriends at prom. It was still Kyle’s turn to pay her a visit since it was almost a family tradition by now that every McKenzie boy-grown-man had his first time in her bed.

Joel laughed when he glanced at his little brother and gave him a playful jab on the upper arm. It hurt but Kyle clenched his teeth against the pain and smacked his brother back. Whenever they did that as kids their father would stop the car immediately and kick them out to le them get it out of their system before they were allowed back into the car.

“Weren’t we just talking about your bride?” Kyle returned to the matter at hand with a cheeky smile. “Do you think she will get used to the simple life? I don’t see her trailing cows though. Maybe she’s a great cook.”

“Or a great fuck,” Joel threw in and shrugged one shoulder. “She’s an Omega. She’s supposed to be a good housewife and mother. I don’t see why a change of address should change her nature. It’s not like I lost my Alphaness when I was at Columbia.”

“But do you think she will be happy?”

No, Joel was certain she would hate it. The best thing he could hope for was that she would get used to him and their home and not run away before the first week was over. Well, he had two days time before she would move in with him to prepare his house for her. He still needed to buy new bedding so she could build a nest.

And, of course, he needed to tell his lover that their affair was over.


	2. Nowhere

Two days later, Ariel sat in the back of her father’s car and glared a hole into the back of the driver’s head the whole time. She hadn’t talked since she had been sold to a total stranger who’s first name was still a mystery to her. She hadn’t exchanged a word with Maggie after she had finished packing her suitcase and most definitely not with her dad or Donna.

He had tried to kiss her goodbye, but she had only dared him to touch her with a viscious glare. Donna had hugged her warmly, tranferring some of her heavy makeup onto Ariel’s cheek. Now her skin was itchy and probably red. Perfect conditions to start a new life with a bunch of farmers in the middle of nowhere judging from her current surroundings. Fields, small groves, lonely ghost towns, and here and there some cows mooing as the car passed by.

This had to be a joke, Ariel kept thinking. She had visited the Trozensky Institute for Omega Education, she could speak five languages, perform a whole Tschaikowsky ballet, and she was going to waste her talents and knowledge among knotheads and barnowls here in the fucking middle of god damn nowhere.

The driver had to roll down the window to let in some fresh air to avoid getting sick from her anger and frustration thickening in the air. If he already felt uncomfortable, he couldn’t imagine what emotions she was juggling around right now. Hell, she couldn’t even identify them all.

An hour later, Ariel couldn’t stare out of the window anymore without getting sadder and more depressed. The last town they had passed through had consisted of a deserted gas station and three houses… very run down houses. Was there even intelligent life so far away from civilization? She wasn’t even in Bulter and wanted to get back to Flint already. If she ever saw her father again, she would tear him apart. How could he do this to his only daughter?

After a few minutes the driver stopped unexpectedly in front of a small colonial style house. The bluegrey paint already chipped off the wood covered walls, dried, dead plants framed the two warped steps up to the front porch, and spider webs in every crevice in sight gave it all the look of a serial killer's hideout.

“Why did you stop?” Ariel asked, anxiety pitching her voice higher.

“The GPS stopped working a mile ago. I will have to ask for the way or we might get lost.”

What else could go wrong? She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head at the whole grotesque situation. Why couldn’t her father sell the house or take bribes? He was a judge after all, so offers shouldn’t be too hard to find and if things got too difficult for him, he could just to brush off any suspicion with his flawless reputation. Everyone knew him and his outstanding record. Nobody would’ve noticed anything. Now his daughter was 200 miles away in the country and everyone would know that he sold her like cattle. Fitting that she was actually sold to a farmer.

The driver left the car and knocked on the thin wood door of the house and waited for a couple of seconds before the door was opened by an old lady with almost purple hair. She smiled from behind her thickly rimmed glasses and nodded as the driver told her what was their current problem. Ariel couldn’t make out the exact words she said, but a second later she pulled out her smartphone -unexpected out here, but alright- and called someone. They just needed instructions to the farm, nothing else. What was so difficult about that?

Ariel let out an annoyed growl and slid deeper into her seat, fishing out her own phone to check if anything interesting had happened since she had last checked half an hour ago. Her former schoolmates had all sent her their condolences, a few even suggesting to go to the police or her congressman. Obviously they were all out of their minds. She couldn’t change anything about her fate. Her father had given her guardianship away, just like their fathers will do as soon as they found a fitting Alpha for them. That’s how it’s always been. Only that most Omegas could chose who they wanted to pick as a mate eventually. They had the right to deny an unwanted suitor. Ariel had been robbed that choice.

Her heart sank as well as the phone in her hands. She needed fresh air and so she opened the door and stepped out into the cool but sunny spring air. Her highwaisted collottes marked her as an outsider like a scarlett letter painted across her forehead. Surely nobody out here paid much attention to fashion, so she would stand out like a whore in church. Ariel shivered lightly and pulled her designer jacket tighter around her middle after searching the pockets for her aviators.

No matter which direction she turned, everything looked the same. Wide meadows, fields with small green wheat already growing in the fertile earth, a few cows enjoying their life on a pasture unaware that they would die before the year was over to become meat on a one dollar burger at a fast food restaurant.

Ariel crossed the lonely street and leaned against the tall fenze that kept the cattle from escaping. How blissful to be so ignorant, she thought and leaned her head onto her hands atop the fenze. What would they do if they knew in what grave danger they were? Would they try to escape or refuse to eat in order to be unattractive at the slaughter? Could she do anything to make herself unattractive when her time of slaughter came?

Ariel closed her eyes thinking what was expected from her. Be a mate and a mother, and everything else with fall into place, Donna had told her with a catlike smile on her painted lips this morning. Everything else? Getting to know the stranger to see if they could even live together was filed under _everything else_. What if he was violent? Abusive? Had certain desires she couldn’t sate? Everyone seemed to naturally assume that they would get along and eventually be happy. Cows, Ariel thought and shook her head, they were all ignorant cows.

Suddenly a car stopped behind her. She turned her head around to see where the driver was. If was part of his job to make sure that nobody approached her. But the driver was busy unpacking her suitcases to protect her.

“What are you doing?” she asked, ignoring the new car, and hurried back to hers. “We’re not there yet.”

“No, Miss Brown, but your mate arrived to take you the rest of the way.” He nodded behind her and a cold shower ran down her spine. Why was he here?

As she turned her head over her shoulder, she made eyecontact with the tall Alpha in question. Ariel still didn’t know his name…

“Why is he here? You were supposed to take me to him, not the other way around,” she hissed and closed the distance between her and the diver.

“Apparently the last part of the way is flooded from the rainfalls last night, the limousine wouldn’t have managed the poor street conditions. He was so kind to come out here and pick you up, Miss. Otherwise we would’ve needed to walk the last section.”

Great. Ariel rounded the back of the limousine and ripped the back door open to snatch her handbag and laptop case before throwing the door shut again with all her might. She had to accept that she would meet the Alpha now and that she had no way of getting back home to Flint once she entered the jeep he had arrived in. She could hardly look over the motor lid, it was that huge. Completely useless in her opinion, but as it seemed she was wrong since this vehicle couldn't be stopped by a bit of water and a few puddles. Fuck the “flawless” limousine.

The Alpha stepped around the car and opened the passenger door for her to climb in. Luckily, he didn't try to lift her or touch her at all. She wanted nothing to do with him, but Ariel would have to stay with him for the forseeable future. The inside of the jeep smelled of him and animals. There was mud on the matt in front of her seat and everywhere were hairs. Did he have a dog with him?

Ariel glanced over her shoulder and was greeted by a friendly looking black and white speckled dog with pointy ears and a wide ...well, smile. She couldn't call it anything else. Ariel liked dogs, had always dreamed of getting one as a child, but since her mother had been allergic to almost anything with a fur, that dream had remained one for the past almost 20 years.

The driver and _her_ Alpha were busy packing her heavy suitcases in the back of the jeep while the lady from the run down house watched them from the open door. She would probably tell the whole county she had arrived the second the cars would leave. As if being here wasn't bad enough already, Ariel was topic of conversation from the first second on. What a way to start into her life in an unquestioningly narrow minded community. She was surprised the old lady didn't call her a whore for wearing pants that showed off her ankles... or wearing pants in general.

A few moments later the driver's door was opened and the mountain of a man slid into the car. He shortly waved the lady goodbye before starting the jeep and turning it on the road to get back where he had been coming from. None of them said a word for the longest time. The only sound in the car was the monotonous panting of the dog on the bench and the low music coming from the radio.

After about ten minutes, Ariel rolled down the window because apparently the jeep didn’t possess an AC. What car didn’t have an AC? The dog was cooking on the back seat and the Alpha didn’t seam to care. He only acknowledged her with a quick side glance before staring back at the lonely road. They hadn’t exchanged a single word, it dawed to her. She knew he wasn’t mute, so apparently he simply didn’t like talking to her. Of course, why would he want to get to know her? It wasn’t like they would spend the rest of their lives together. How foolish of her to believe that he might want to introduce himself to her. Shaking her head, Ariel fought hard to keep her scent light or at least dampen the anger in it.

“My name is Joel,” he suddenly broke his silence and startled Ariel with the unexpected sound. “I know this is not how you imagined it to go, but neither did I.”

Oh, now he was just a victim like her? Oh, please.

“My dad made the deal with yours when I was away at college. He thought it was a good way to make sure your father paid the debts. None of us actually thought he would give you up.”

“Yes, none of us,” Ariel agreed and crossed her arms over her chest.

And then he fell silent again, but at least now she knew his name. Shortly after they arrived at a part of the street that was hidden under 15 inches of muddy water. Joel drove slowly and careful so that the tires wouldn’t splash the water too high. If it had only been a small section of the road, Ariel would’ve argued that the limousine would’ve managed it too, but the water covered almost a mile. The surrounding meadows ditched a little before they met the roadside so not all of it was drowning, but the sheep still huddled at the far edge of the fenzed area.

“The water should be gone in a few days.”

Why should she care when it was gone again? She would never leave this place again, water or not.

 

* * *

Maybe Joel should just shut up. She was upset and not in the mood for conversation, and he was still hearing Bonnie’s desperate cries after he had told her that it was over. Things would’ve never worked out for them. She must’ve known that.

His uncle and her grandfather hated each other since before the current generation had even been born. This wasn’t Romeo and Juliet, luckily, otherwise they would’ve ended up killing themselves with a dagger and poison, but Bonnie took it harder than he had expected.

Joel wasn’t a heartless monster and he hadn’t chosen this girl next to him, but what was he supposed to do? There had been a deal and he was an Alpha. He wasn’t going to throw his future with an Omega away for an affair that had started crumbling apart months ago. The secrets he had been keeping from his entire family and hers had weighed heavily on his shoulders. Her talks of leaving and moving into another county had been dreams but nothing more. As much as he hated himself for thinking it, but Bonnie wasn’t someone to have children with... At least not for him. When he had tried explaining the word Eureka to her once, she had only talked about a tv series. A nice, gentle, but also simple girl like her could’ve never made him happy in the long run.

“What’s his name?” Ariel asked suddenly. Joel glanced at her reaching backwards to the dog.

“Frodo.”

She stared at him for a moment before the smallest hint of a smile tugged on the corners of her lips.

“He has two brother named Bilbo and Sam.”

“Not Pippin and Merry?” So, she knew The Lord of the Rings, a good start.

“Maybe we’ll name two of his puppies like that. They’re due in two to three weeks.”

“You breed dogs then?”

“For the work on the farm, yes. It’s easier to let the little ones trot along with the older ones so they can pick up the commands than to buy already trained adult dogs,” Joel explained and turned into the access road to his family home. Hopefully she would like it and not demand to be brought back home to Flint. Not that it was really an option. He had a whole bunch of work on the farm tomorrow, he couldn’t take an entire day off to play taxi driver for her… and Joel wasn’t sure her father would take her back anyway.

The road got more and more bumpy the closer they came to the house. He really needed to grab David and Kyle and fix it next month. This one was already packed with town meetings, Hayley’s birthday was around the corner, and David had planned on starting his courtship on Summer too. And of course, there was still the question if Ariel wanted to get married of if she was content with them _just_ being future mates. Being her guardian already pretty much gave her martial rights to everything he owned should he drop dead the second he left the car. Ariel was cared for.

“Do you want to marry?” he asked out of the blue and only realized how it must’ve sounded to her a second of dead silence from her side later, “This is probably the worst proposal in all of history, but since we are basically married, I am just asking if you care for a traditional ceremony.”

“You mean an Uncollaring,” she snapped and glared ahead. Her scent changed immediately and burned in his lungs like the stench of gasoline.

“And what’s your answer?” Joel asked, imitating the snappy tone she was using.

“I –“ She cut herself off and shook her head. “Do I have to answer now?”

No, of course not. He always asked questions he didn’t want an answer to. “Sure, take your time.”

Joel stopped the car in front of his -their- house and waited for Frodo to jump out behind him before he banged the door shut. He was confident that she was able to open her door herself while he unloaded her luggage. Whatever was in her suitcases must’ve weighed at least a ton. If he didn’t know better, he would think she had packed stones just to make his life harder. But having a sister, he knew how many things were indispensable for a young woman.

Groaning, he brought the luggage up the three steps to the front porch and waited for Ariel to join him before he opened the door for her for the first time.


	3. The House

The house was in a much better shape than she had expected, but Ariel hadn’t missed the fact that it was still nowhere near as clean and whole as it could’ve been had he taken the time to prepare for her arrival today. What a considerate man her father had sold her to, her internal voice hissed as she let her eyes wander over the impersonal, outdated interior design she was surrounded by the second she stepped through the entrance door. How could she feel at home in a place like this? The floor boards were squeaky below her designer flats and the wallpaper bubbly in certain areas. She ignored Joel as he carried her luggage up a narrow flight of stairs into the second floor and continued with her assessment of the situation.

Frodo had squeazed past her to drink from his bowl and immediately left through the still open door to never be seen again, it seemed. Apparently this was totally normal for him and his owner, so she didn’t pay it any attention. Ariel wandered from the small living room into an even tinier kitchen and dining room. The appliances looked like they were at least twenty years old with marks and scratches all over the surfaces. Traces of children everywhere. Did he grow up here?

She shook her head as she wondered who would count the notches in the doorframe of her old room when her father would eventually sell their house, the home she grew up in. Ariel looked around further and peered out of the window above the sink to a large veranda and the back garden. She could see miles from here. Soft hills cut the horizon short, but other than a few single trees here and there, all she saw was fields and meadows with cattle, sheep, and horses enjoying the golden evening sun.

It had a rustic romantic charm, she couldn’t deny that, but after a week she would grow tired of it and want to return to the busy city with flashing advertisement banners, 24/7 coffee shops, and twenty different shows to pick from when the TV program was too boring. Out here? What could she do here?

Probably what most hillbillies did to pass the time: drive around with their sweetheart and mess around on the backseat until she turned up pregnant and all that was left was a gunshot wedding or shame for the entire family. She shivered at the thought of giving herself to this man who was just coming back down the stairs.

“So, you have taken a look around already?” he mused and buried his huge hands in the back pockets of his jeans.

“A little... It’s small.”

“But big enough for a family. Me and my siblings grew up here,” he said and nodded over to the doorway behind her that led back into the dining room. Ariel followed his line of sight and found four different columns of growing lines. So, he had three siblings… a big family she was now a part of.

Joel walked over to the frame and pointed at each of the columns. “This is for my older brother David, mine, my sister Hayley, and the baby, Kyle, who you have already met.”

“You have an older brother? Why isn’t he- “

“Your mate? David is a Beta. I’m the oldest Alpha child my parents had.” Suddenly Joel’s whole body language changed as if he had said something wrong. He looked to the floor and hunched his broad shoulders slightly.

“Where are your parents?” Ariel had the feeling that this was the cause for his sudden change of emotion if she could trust her nose.

“They are dead, died in a car crash four years ago. Our uncle took over custody of Hayley and Kyle after it happened. And I think I should show you the guest room now. I gathered you wouldn’t wanna jump into my bed straight from the start.”

Or ever, she added silently, but was grateful for his consideration. She followed his inviting hand wave and climbed the stairs a couple of seconds later. Thank god she wasn’t claustrophobic otherwise she wouldn’t have managed the way up into the upper story of the small house. The stairway opened into an similarly narrow hallway with several doors leading into the rooms, five doors to be precise.

“The one ahead is my bedroom, the second one on the right is the bathroom and the second one on the left is your bedroom,” he said, and pushed her gently forward. Ariel was about to slap his hand away when he had already pulled it back by himself. At least he didn’t think she was easy prey just because she was an Omega and he basically had the golden ticket to her pussy thanks to her father. Ariel wrapped her arms around her waist and entered the simple, old fashioned bedroom with a bed, a dresser, and a vanity, but nothing else. Well, she didn’t count the ugly wall lights as something worth mentioning since she would throw them out the second she had a replacement for them. But the most hideous part was the floral wallpaper not even her grandmother would’ve appreciated. How could somebody live like that?

“We will renovate as soon as possible, I promise.”

“Oh, why? It’s lovely,” Ariel snapped and shook her head at her tasteless surroundings.

“Like I said, we can renovate the second I can drive to the hardware store,” Joel replied and glared at her with his deep blue eyes.

She had another sharp response on her tongue but swallowed it down.

“Go and unpack your suitcase while I make dinner. Are you a vegetarian or do you hate calories like so many of you city people?”

She shook her head and waited until he had left her alone before she allowed herself to let out the shaky sigh she had held in for the last twenty minutes. This couldn’t be her life. This couldn’t be her home from now on.

Ariel dropped down on the bed and was surprised how comfortable the mattress was. Maybe not everything about this was as horrible as it seemed. Still nothing in comparison to her Egyptian sheets at home. She let out a breathy laugh when she thought about “home”. Her eyes wandered around the small room with its disgusting wallpaper and more than questionable interior design. This was her home. Her father had given her to Joel and hadn’t even apologized when she had left the house this morning. To think that then she had been in another city, almost an entirely other world, than she was now appeared so bizarre to her that this had to be a dream. Maybe she would wake up in a few seconds and find herself back at school with her strict schedule ahead of her.

What was she supposed to do here all day? Ariel looked out of the window onto the sunny fields around the house. There was nothing around for miles. She would die of boredom or lonelyness.

Still, there was no use in dwelling, she told herself and stood up again to unpack her suitcases. Hanging up her evening and cocktail dresses by Elie Saab and Dior in the tiny built-in wardrobes. They looked like a piece of cinematography from an independent filmmaker, so beautiful and awfully out of place.

An hour of unpacking and trying to get a phone signal anywhere in her old fashioned chamber later, she gave up hiding up in her bedroom and faced the fact that she would have to 1) get downstairs and eventually get to know her …husband, mate, room mate and 2) eat something. Since she had skipped breakfast to avoid Donna this morning, her stomach was more than empty. It had given up growling somewhere along the drive and was now only hurting from being so empty.

Hopefully she wouldn’t have to kill dinner herself. She knew how to cook coq au vin but killing and plucking feathers had never been part of her academics. As she made her way down the stairs, she already picked up on the smell of cooked meat and her stomach awoke with a vicious growl. Joel was in the dining room preparing the large table that looked like it was meant for at least six more people.

“Good, I just wanted to call you downstairs. Are you hungry?”

“Yes,”Ariel replied and swallowed down the water gathering in her mouth. She didn’t want him to think she was a glutton. Her teachers would’ve disapproved strongly of anything but a behavior worth a royal. So Ariel sat down gracefully with her back facing the door leading into the kitchen while Joel put down the steaming plates with potatoes, a healthy piece of meat and green beans. A farmer’s dish, Ariel thought, but right now she would’ve eaten a pig’s head… well maybe not, but at least anything remotely edable without eyes that would stare at her from her plate.

Joel sat down and reached out both his hands when Ariel was already filling her fork with the beans. He wasn’t actually expecting her to pray with him, right?

“I’m not religious,” she said as he still waited.

Joel stared at her for a long moment before he visibly clenched his jaws and closed his eyes in a silent prayer before he started eating himself.

How could someone in this day and age with everything that happened around the world, all the suffering and blooshet in the name of religion, still believe in an old man in the clouds who supposedly created everything on earth in only six days, because everyone knows he didn’t lift a finger on the seventh one? This was ridiculous. Religion hurt more than it helped. Only fools and children still believed in heaven and hell.

They ate in silence almost through the entire meal, the only sound in the whole house being the noises of their silverwear on the cheap IKEA porcellain and the monotonous ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room. Until suddenly Joel’s phone started playing _Scotland the Brave_ and he jumped up from the table as if something had bitten him. He checked the caller’s ID and his cheeks lost some of their color.

“Would you excuse me for a moment?” He didn’t wait for her permission before he left the dining room. Ariel heard the squeak of the back door and stood up. How dare he get up from their first dinner and leave her alone? What could be so important or secretive that he even left the house to answer that call?

She snuck up to the open doorway connecting the dining room and kitchen right next to the back door to listen to what she wasn’t supposed to hear.

“I told you, it’s over,” Joel whispered right in front of the door. What was he talking about? “No, Bonnie, I told you that I wouldn’t do this to her. It doesn’t matter if she hates it here. This is her home now and I am her partner.”

Bonnie? She hadn’t met her yet, but it seemed like they would probably not become best friends when her “partner” broke up with her for Ariel. Honorable of him… in a way, but still a shitty situation for everyone involved. Why had he accepted her as a future mate when he already had a woman waiting for him? Joel hadn’t struck her as a dynamic crazy Alpha, yet she only knew him for a few hours.

He let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall next to the back door out of Ariel’s sight. “No, please, don’t cry, Bonnie. We’ve been over this. I-“

She had cut him off with a shouted insult loud enough for even Ariel to hear it before the phone went silent. Joel groaned and hung up as well.

“Jesus Christ,” he breathed and straightened up before he turned to walk back into the house. Time for Ariel to sit down again and pretend to be clueless.

“I’m sorry, I needed to take that call.”

“Nothing serious, I hope?” she asked and filled her fork with mashed potatos.

“No, unfortunately something very serious, but nothing you have to worry about. It should be better with time.”

Time to mend a broken heart, she thought and nodded desinterestedly. She tried to forget the fact that he had ended his affair, one that obviously had been at least partially serious to both of them, for her. Obviously his heart wasn’t picky. She should keep that in mind if someone more attractive than her should ever cross his path.


	4. Best Friends

After dinner, Joel quickly rinsed the plates, completely lost in his thoughts about Bonnie. She had sounded terrible on the phone, but he had talked hours with her that they couldn’t continue their affair. If her grandfather ever found out, he could forget the deal he was so carefully building up to, had been for the last two years. They had been sleeping together for almost the same amount of time. He had never tried to use her to his advatage, it had simply happened… over and over again. Unbelieveable that they had been able to keep their affair a secret for such a long time. Unconsciously he shook his head.

“So, what do people do out here in the evening? I guess theater shows or other forms of higher cultural entertainment are few and far between.”

Her sniding comment brought him back to the current times and his current …partner. She was still a child, just like Kyle was still green behind his ears. But that’s what happened to girls like her. As soon as they could, they were thrusted into the arms of a stranger to be mounted and bred.

Joel checked her out from the corner of his eye. She was definitely a beauty with her long blonde hair and hourglass figure. Her long slender neck was hidden under a turtleneck which was short sleeved and a cropped shirt. Either this was fashion or something especially made for Omegas to keep Beta males and Alphas from randomly claiming them. Joel couldn’t deny that the thought of ramming his teeth into her flesh was an appealing one, but this far he would’ve shot himself if he had to live with someone as bitchy as her for the rest of his life.

“Most people here go to bed early because they get up in the morning early as well.”

“Most doesn’t mean all.”

Joel turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the sink. “If I’m not mistaken the other’s take care of their children, plan church events, or visit Mrs Gaskell’s book club. I think I’ve heard they are currently reading _Lolita_.”

Her face dropped as he listed her options.

“Where is the next city with a Starbucks?” she asked, still holding onto the hope that Bulter County wasn’t as lonely and deserted as it unfortunately was.

“About an hour drive.”

Ariel shook her head and waited for him to laugh or signal that he was just kidding, but Atwood was the closest city with a Starbucks, though it wasn’t even a licensed one, only a coffee shop that had a seal instead of a mermaid in its logo but she didn’t need to know that when she was already losing all the color in her cheeks.

“This is a joke, right? What about culture?”

“Aren’t books culture in your eyes?”

“Not the tales of an old pedophile trying to get his stepdaughter into bed,” Ariel replied, her voice shrieking a little before she closed her eyes and took a calming breath. “I saw you have a TV in the living room. Is it funcional?”

“Course.”

“Oh, thank God. Do you get FBS?”

“Flint Broadcasting Service?” Joel laughed. “No, of course not. Ariel, your are far away from Flint now.”

.                                                                                                                                             .

 

Yes, she became aware of it more with every passing second. “I think, I’ll go to bed now. The way was much more tiring than I’d expected. Good night, Joel.”

Out of fear he might expect her to give him a good night’s kiss or him wanting to give her one, she turned on her heel and hurried up into her chamber and noticed for the first time that the room had no key. She couldn’t lock Joel out and she wasn’t strong enough to move the dresser in front of the door. Fuck.

She sat down on the bed and with nothing else to occupy her mind with, Ariel started to think, and that was dangerous in a place she couldn't trust anyone. She didn't know Joel and, if he wanted to, he had the physical strength to simply overpower her, do with her whatever he wanted. He could claim her against her will and she would have to stay with him for the rest of her life... here... in Bulter County. The thought made her blood run cold and she shivered. Where was her purple cardigan again? In the moth invested wardrobe or in the dresser with the suspicious little brown pellets that looked an aweful lot like mouse excrements? How could her father do this to her? Didn't he know how these people lived? He had doomed his only daughter, his only child, to a fate she would not even wish her fiercest enemy.

And she was completely alone with her thoughts. She could hardly tell her captor that she would rather sleep in a hotel than share the same roof as him. Though the next hotel was probably not much better or a million miles away. Nothing could change her mind that she would never be happy here. How could she? They didn't even have fucking reception here. Her expensive phone was absolutely useless and with no way of calling for help, Joel was in a position of total control. Why had nobody taught her how to drive a car? Other schools taught their students or at least other Omegas learned it somewhere. But Ariel had never even touched a steering wheel in her life. Why would she when there had always been a driver or her father around to bring her places? 

Her eyes wandered out of the window. The sun was setting and filled the sky with an array of shades of purple, pink, and red. It looked beautiful, much more beautiful than the sunsets in Flint, but it didn't help. Tears filled her eyes and a lump formed in her throat. Ariel wanted to go home and hear Donna's voice, lecturing her about sitting straight at the table and keeping her skin moisturized or she would get wrinkles on her forehead and neck. 

Her neck, Ariel suddenly thought and looked at the door. She couldn't take her collar off or he would claim her. This beast of a man surely knew no boundaries. Not that he had shown her anything but slight annoyance with her sharp tongue but who could tell her he wouldn't snap the second he saw her without the protective band around her neck and scent gland?

"You can't trust anyone," Ariel told herself and wiped her cheeks dry, "no one."

Without bothering to undress, she curled up on the squeaky bed and forced herself to sleep. Joel had told her to get accustomed to the new situation, but all she wanted was for it all to end. She wouldn't let him in only to be used and get hurt. She wouldn't accept his kindness because it was all show. In a few days when he grew frustrated because she hadn't dropped her panties for him yet, he would show his real character and at least Ariel wouldn't feel betrayed because she had seen it all coming.

 

She didn't sleep well that night. Every creaking or quiet bumping somewhere in the house made her startle up in the fear that Joel would take her against her will. She had heard horrible stories about the first nights in an Omega's new home. Some were already claimed and carried their captor's child when the morning sun began to shine down on their blood crusted claiming mark and cum glistening raped cunt. She pulled her knees to her chest and tried taking deep breaths to calm her nerves. It wouldn't happen to her. She was fast, could run and hide. But she hardly knew the surroundings, the meadows and fields provided little to no opportunity to hide from him should he come to collect what he thought was his by birth.

But Joel didn't enter her bedroom. Not in the middle of the night or in the morning. She heard him move outside the door, but only to get to the bathroom and back into his bedroom to get dressed for the day. A quick glance at her useless phone told her it wasn't even five am. Who got up this early in the morning? Apparently hedid.

She expected him to knock on the door to "wake" her, but the next thing she heard from him was the gurgling sound of his jeep when he left for work. It was weird that they didn't live on the farm in the first place, but in a house in the middle of nowhere. If he had to drive to work every morning why not live at least in town so that she could entertain herself with something other than staring at the disgusting wall paper?

But with Joel out of the house, Ariel's mind was much more at ease. She lay back down and managed a few more hours of sleep before she woke from knocking on her door. Her body was in alert mode immediately, her blood swelling with adrenaline as her brain screamed at her to flee. A second knock followed the first one and a strange voice called through the thin wood of the door.

"Good morning Ariel. I’m Hayley, Joel's sister. Can I come in?"

Hayley? His sister? Her panicked mind needed a few seconds to realize that a female wouldn't claim nor rape her, so she got up and opened the door a crack. Outside stood a young woman maybe in her early twenties with curly, strawberry blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She and her brothers shared the same nose it seemed, unfortunate for her since it wasn't a very delicate one. Her smile was friendly and showed a crooked fang on her left side. Apparently dentists weren't a thing out here either, just like hair masks. Jesus Christ, she would look like a scarecrow in no time as well. The woman smelled pregnant, sweet but almost untraceable since she was a Beta and apparently she had bathed in lavender soap before coming here.

"Did you sleep well?"

"No," Ariel croaked out and cleared her throat, opening the door a little wider but still keeping Hayley out of her room.

"Sorry to hear that. I'm sure you're not used to all the noises the crickets make as soon as the sun sets. If you'd grown up with it you wouldn't be able to sleep without their constant clitter." Hayley offered her another, wider smile before she continued, "Joel asked me to make you some breakfast and show you around town while he's working. If you want to we can visit him and bring his lunch at noon."

"I would like to take a shower," was all Ariel could say right now. How could Hayley be so happy? And what about crickets? She hadn't heard any last night. Also, the noises in the city were much louder than anything around here could produce. She had no idea what she was talking about.

"Sure, uhm, do you have any wishes for breakfast? I can prepare everything while you scrub off last night."

Jesus Christ. "I'll have eggs benedict and a chai latte, thanks."

"I'm afraid you overestimate my abilities and the offerings in the kitchen, Ariel. How about some bacon and scrambled eggs with a pot of coffe and milk?"

"Sure, what else did I expect," she sighed and retreated into her room to pick up an outfit and collect her shower stuff. The door behind her was slowly pushed open and Hayley entered the room.

"I get that this isn't great for you and that you'd rather be back in the city, but that's no reason to be nasty. I am being nice to you and everyone else here will be to. The least you can do is being civil with us."

Of to a great start. Ariel turned around and thanked her silently for giving her the opportunity to vent. She was no danger for her, not like her brother, so she could let off some steam.

"Isn’t great? My whole life is fucked up. I am more than two hundred miles away from my home and my family. Nobody here can understand what it feels like to be given away as payment for a debt made years ago when I was still in school learning Russian literature and other academics I will never be able to use in a god forsaken place like this.

“I have no one to confide in because I am a total stranger and an Omega at that. Are there many Omegas in this area? Do many women here have more than an average at best high school diploma? Can anyone here speak at least proper English, nonetheless a second language well enough to hold up in a simple conversation? I was meant to be the mate of an important politician, statesman, or even royal. Instead I have to deal with cattle farmers and their ignorant sisters."

"My mother was an Omega," was all Hayley said before she turned around and left.

Ariel, taken aback from her quick retreat, gathered her shower utensils again and "scrubbed off last night" under the therapeutically warm spray of the shower. At least the bathroom looked like it had been modernised within the last five years. Good, the kitchen and the bathroom were the most important rooms in a house. When they were a mess everything else could be clad in gold and it would still be a terrible house. Well, not that this was actually great, but the bathroom let her hope.

Once she was clean and the sublte smell of lilies clung to her hair and skin, she dressed in a high-necked blouse with dachhunds printed on it and another culotte that surely nobody here would appreciate given that Hayley wore a noname, yellow summer dress that fit a little too tight around her belly. Well, maybe people around here had no eye for fashion, but maternity clothes should not be a secret here either. Even convenient stores carried them nowadays.

Ariel descended the stairs and had to cover her nose at the smell in the air. Biting anger and sadness had never been a great combination, but the lavender on Hayley actually made it even worse. She found her in the kitchen aggressivly chopping the scrambled eggs in the beat up frying pan Joel had prepared their meat in yesterday evening.

"You are not better than us just because you went to a fancy school, alright missy?" she muttered to herself and a new wave of stinking emotions flooded the room. If Ariel didn't open a window she would definitely throw up. So, she hurried past Hayley and ripped the back door open to let in some fresh air.

"Oh, her majesty finally came down. How gracious of her," Hayley snapped and dumped the eggs and bacon on a plate.

"Are you always stinking like that or only when you are cooking?" Ariel hissed back, knowing that they would probably never become best friends after today.

"How can you be so full of vile when you've only been here for half a day and a night? I'm pretty fucking sure Joel has only been nice to you, but if you treated him like you treat me now, I see why he showed up at the farm at the buttcrack of dawn. I wouldn't want to spend a second longer than necessary with you either."

"Fine, then why don't you tell your perfect brother to fuck himself and take me back to Flint where I belong!"

"Because as far as I've heard not even your own father wants you there anymore." That was a low blow and Hayley knew it the second her opponent didn't shoot back. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, you are right," Ariel said, fighting hard to keep her lower lip from quivering. "My father sent me away and my stepmother didn't stop him from selling me to a complete stranger. That's all true."

She wrapped her arms around her middle and sucked her lower lip between her teeth. Apparently the whole McKenzie family knew she had been given away to them without any fight from her dad. Great. She was already branded as the unloved child of a man who couldn't keep his money together. If she’d had any reputation to lose, it was already gone from day one. Her school education wasn't helping her and being and Omega was the reason she was in this situation in the first place. Ariel swallowed against the fresh tears lining her eyes and turned her head away from Hayley. The last thing she needed was having an emotional break down in front of the enemy herself. With a small "please, excuse me" she stepped out into the back garden and only stopped walking when she was far enough away from the house that she couldn't smell Joel's sister anymore. Hopefully, that meant she couldn't smell her either.


	5. Bulter

The grass under her naked feet was wet from the morning fog that still clung to the lush green blades of the herbage sprinkled in with the common weed. The last time Ariel had walked barefoot outside she had still been a child. When her father had been too busy to spend the weekend home, she and her mother had packed a few things like a picknick blanket and electric tealights, and had spent the time alone on her mother's estate in Morgan County, not far from here. The only building on the vast empty plot of land had been a tiny house with only two rooms and a bathroom only big enough for one of them to fit inside.

But Ariel hadn't cared about mouse holes in the walls or spiders running over her hand out on the picknick blanket because she’d had her mother with her. A whole new wave of sadness washed over her as she remembered the happy days before she had been ripped from her mother's arms to learn at the institute. Now it wasn't important how many paintings she had studied during art class or how educated in physics she was, now all those memories showed her that what really mattered in life wasn't learned at schools after all. Nobody at the institute had ever loved her as much as her mother had, and instead of getting kisses and hugs, she had been forced to waste the time they could've spent together alone in an old house with twenty snobbish, lonely Omegas who missed their parents just as much as she had.

"I'm sorry, Ariel," she suddenly heard behind her and turned around quickly. Hayley looked at her with big eyes and a sincere look of apology on her face. "Can we start again?"

"Yes… yes, I'm sorry too." Without uttering another word, they made their way back into the kitchen and ate in silence until Hayley had to stop. She placed her hand on her stomach and took a deep breath.

"Morning sickness?" 

Her eyes flew open as if Ariel had stabbed her instead of asking. "You know?"

"It's pretty hard to miss."

All of the sudden panic tinted Hayley's scent as she grabbed Ariel's wrists and looked her deep in the eyes, pleading, "You can't tell anyone. I'm begging you. Nobody must know."

"But sooner or later people will find out. Why shouldn't they know?" Her eyes dropped to her hands clasping onto her wrists. No ring. Hayley wasn't married. "Oh. Who is the father? Is he married?"

Hayley pulled her hands back and kneaded them nervously. "I can't tell you. I can't tell anyone." 

The two women stared at each other for a moment before Ariel eventually nodded and promised to keep her secret, even from her brother.

"But why? People will find out eventually. You must know that, right?"

"He... he doesn't know yet and I want to give him the chance to decide if he wants to let everyone know or ...not." Hayley's eyes turned sad, her hand cupping her little baby belly gently.

"I'm not an expert on abortion but you look a little too far along to make it go away."

"I don't want to kill my baby," she whispered and rubbed her thumb over her protruding stomach. Ariel shook her head at that. Hayley might have a similar fire in her as she did, but an unmarried mother only supported her image of hillbillies in their natural environment. 

"When will you tell him then?"

Hayley's eyes grew wide.

"You are planning on telling him,  you just said so yourself."

"It's not that easy. He is not... available."

"You've had enough alone time with him to make a baby, you'll also manage to have enough time to tell him about your child," Ariel argued and resumed eating. She was incredibly hungry.

"You are probably right, but-" Hayley let out a heavy sigh. "What if he doesn't want it?"

"Then you will have to stay in Switzerland for a while."

"What?"

Ariel forgot she wasn't talking to someone smart. "When British noble daughters had a bun in the oven they were usually sent to live with their aunt or cousin in Switzerland for the rest of their pregnancy. The baby would then be given away or raised as the child of a distant relative to safe their reputation."

"Oh." Hayley moved to pick up the fork again, but dropped it with a little gag. "We don't have an aunt in Switzerland. I don't even own a passport. I need a ginger ale."

"What do you think will happen when you have a fatherless child? Will you get shunned?"

Hayley huffed and stood up before she searched her brother's fridge for a bottle of the desired beverage. "I will definitely not become Holy Hayley. I guess the old ones will talk, but that's what they already do because I am not married at my age, because David is fishing in the wrong waters -according to Mrs. Brunswick at least- and because Kyle is too young to work on the farm with Joel."

"And what do they say about him?"

"Kyle? That he is a smart kid. Too smart to waste his time with cattle, but what do they know? He loves the farm."

"No, I meant Joel," Ariel cleared up and tried to sound as desinterested as possible. 

Hayley stopped mid air as she wanted to take the first sip from the sweating ginger ale bottle, and turned around to look at Ariel. "That he is a lucky guy to have you. They remember our parents and how lucky they were. I mean, Joel is the spitting image of dad, but... well, mum and dad were a match made in heaven, not across a business table."

"How did they meet?"

Hayley's eyes lit up and her lips spread into a wide smile. "Her horse ran away with her on its back. Dad was fixing a fence and heard her panicked cries and jumped on his own horse to safe her."

That sounded like it was pulled straight from a Jane Austen novel. It couldn't be the truth. Obviously her face portraited her skepsis because Hayley suddenly started laughing. "Alright, the didn't meet like that. It was significantly less romantic actually. My grandfather bought her for dad at an auction in Naughton. She wasn't thrilled to move out into the contryside as well, but she came to turns fairly quickly. I guess having David and being active in church helped her connect. Are you planning on being active in the community?"

"I'm not religious," Ariel replied and looked down at her empty plate. Maybe it was time to pretend to believe in a man who had made the world and every misery on it just to be less of an outsider. Obviously it had worked for her late mother-in-law. Meeting her would’ve been a great relief, since only an Omega could really understand what it was like to crave certain things, be influenced so much by scents and surroundings, while being a major influence on others around oneself as well. But her parents-in-law were dead and her only option was to accept that she was probably the only Omega in the whole county.

"I don't think many people around here are actually religious, but they are still in the church to participate in book clubs, holidays, basars, and all that jazz. We actually have a play in a few days that the local children practiced. It's Red Riding Hood."

She gave a short snort. "I'll think I'll pass."

"Why?" Hayley asked, sounding almost heartbroken.

"Because I know the story behind the fairytale and I am basically Red Riding Hood myself, living here with the Big Bad Wolf."

Hayley stared at her for what felt like eternity. "Did Joel do something last night? I thought he wanted to wait before... you know."

"No, he didn't do anything, but I thought he -" Ariel cut herself off. Why was she even talking about something as personal as that? Hayley might be a nice person, well, the only nice person she had met this far, but she was still Joel's sister and when it would come down to who she was more loyal to, she would lose against the family bond. That's just how family worked. Ariel smiled and collected her dish. "You wanted to show me the town, if I remember correctly. Let's go."

Hayley frowned at the sudden change of topics, but remained silent. She put her untouched plate into the fridge before she grabbed her very colorful handbag and made her way towards the door. Ariel slipped her shoes back on and hoped they wouldn't walk too far. Her flats were supposed to look good, not be comfortable.

"I don't have a house key yet," Ariel said when Hayley pulled the front door shut behind them.

"Oh, we don't need to lock the door out here. Nobody's going to break in. I mean, why would someone?"

"To get things they might sell for money?" Duh.

Hayley giggled and shook her head. "There's no pawn shop in Bulter. If they wanted to sell something stolen, they would have to do it over the internet and since only 20 percent of all citizens in Bulter even own a computer, the suspects are very limited."

They made their way over to a red toyota with a nice dust coating all around. Car washes didn't seem to be a thing here either. She had a small sticker on the inside of her windshield with a number and "Bulter Primary School" written on it.

"You are a teacher?" Ariel asked as she opened the passenger door.

"Yup, art and English."

"How come you are free to drive me around then? Shouldn’t you be working?"

"It’s summer break, dummy," Hayley laughed and slid into the driver's seat. Ariel bit her lip before she could reply that if anything she was the dummy and that something like summer break hadn't been part of her strict education. Without a word she entered the heated up car and couldn't wait to meet the other citizens of this small town nest.

Bulter was a street with a few buildings, a convenience store, and not much more. The church was small and white, blending in with the rest of the uninteresting buildings to its sides. Most of the woman walking around were either having children trailing by or were pregnant. Ariel had a feeling that people had little to nothing else to do here other than making more children. Weren't condoms a thing? Well, she wouldn't breach the topic with her unmarried, pregnant "sister-in-law" in the driver's seat next to her.

Hayley pointed at almost everyone and told her their names. Ariel could hardly remember half of them and she was certain it wasn't necessary anyway, since she didn't plan on becoming best friends with many of those breeding mares in the first place. Why would she? Friendships were supposed to either bring an advantage or to offer entertainment. She highly doubted any of those to be the case if she befriended people below her intellectual and social stance.

Hayley stopped the car behind the convenience store on a small parking lot, greeting people they passed with a cheerful smile. How could somebody be so fucking happy? Ariel didn't even try to copy her and raise the corners of her lips in a fake smile. This wasn't a town. If anything, it was a village. One street to house them all and not even that she was offered by her guardian. No, Joel lived outside this nest, so she had to do so as well.

"Do you know how to drive?"

"No, I never learned that."

"Not? But I thought you could do anything," Hayley chirped with a teasing smirk.

"Nothing servants could do for me," Ariel replied and ignored Hayley's huff. "Where will you show me around first? It doesn't seem like a very crowded piece of land."

"Oh, but almost everyone is outside today."

Those fifty something people were "almost everyone" already? Maybe memorizing the names of every single citizen in Bulter wouldn't turn out to be such a hard thing after all.

"Today is Duke Day at the diner, which means that they offer double portions of their amazing sandwiches for half the prize. We should pick up some of their roast beef sandwiches for the boys later."

Ariel listen to Hayley in silent awe. How could people be happy with this life? They had almost nothing to do and got excited about cheap food. Didn't she know it was just a measure to get rid of food that would otherwise go bad and had to be thrown away? It was a simple marketing tactic. You'd think that someone who was a teacher had at least some kind of basic knowledge of how the world worked, right?

"By the way, Duke's the owner of the diner, in case you were wondering. And maybe we could look if anyone wants to sell you their old bicycle or Joel teaches you how to drive so you can do some grocery shopping in the future. As soon as school starts again, I will be too busy to do that."

Not to forget that she would have to take care of a baby all by herself if the douchebag who had mounted her didn't stand up to his responsibility. Ariel shook her head. This wasn't her life and not her problem either. She tagged along as Hayley led her around the store onto the mildly empty street.

"If we go down the right side, we'll get to -"

Suddenly Hayley stopped talking and stared down the street. The only thing Ariel could see were people in ill-fitting summer clothes and a man who seemed to be the village priest, talking to a few old ladies. 

"We should go down left," Hayley decided and turned on her heel as if she had seen a ex boyfriend of her. Ariel had to hurry to keep up with her until they rounded a corner and almost ran into a woman in her mid-thirties with a flowy dress and a huge pregnant belly. Was everyone expecting here or was it just that all the others were actually working right now?

"Hayley, oh my god, I haven't seen you in weeks. Why aren't you coming to choir practice this saturday? We are actually planning something special for Father Michael's 35th birthday next week." Her light brown eyes met Ariel and she immediately extended her hand. "Hi, I'm Tiffany. You must be Hayley's sister-in-law. Nice to meet you. What's your name? Will you join the choir as well?"

"Ariel's not religious," Hayley answered quickly before she had even had the chance to open her mouth. 

Tiffany's smile dropped instantly, but she built it back up as if nothing had happened. "Well, then maybe you would like to join our book club every tuesday. We don't really talk about the books, we just gather around and talk. I'd love to talk with you two more, but I have to pick up Jeremy from Mrs. Gleeson. Apparently my little raskell enjoys climbing on forbidden apple trees. It was nice meeting you, Ariel. Bye."

And off she was with her smile and happiness that simply couldn't be genuine. Maybe she was high, Ariel thought and imagined a whole giant underground lab complex to supply the town with flouride in the water to keep them pliant and as happy as can be.

"Don't ever trust her. She's a wolf in sheepskin. The second she can, she will drive a knife into your back, “Hayley hissed and wanted to continue down the street, “And her little demon son probably bit Mrs. Gleeson. He’s in my class and he bit almost every other kid. Even tried to taste me. I swear, if I could, I would-."

"Those aren't very Christian words I hear there, Miss McKenzie," a deep voice behind them said and stopped the two women like that.

Hayley closed her eyes before she put on an apologetic smile and turned around. "I'm sorry, Father Michael, but you know it's true."

Ariel watched careful as her sister-in-law moved her handbag in front of her belly to hide it. For a moment she just accepted it as a gesture of nervousness because she had been caught speaking ill of her neighbor, but the fondess in his eyes and the way Hayley's cheeks turned a hint darker was enough to tell Ariel that this wasn't just a conversation between God's shephard and his lamb. Her eyebrows drew up to her hairline. The Father was the father? Of her baby? It couldn't be, right? That was too ourageous, surely. Who would start an affair with a priest?

Well, he wasn't bad looking, she had to give Hayley that. With his dark hair and steel blue eyes, he was definitely a sight her eyes would love to focus on during a boring sermon. He didn't smell awfully strong, but Ariel could still tell he was an Alpha. She had always thought no Alpha would voluntarily give up his right to breed to become God's servant and apparently she hadn't been wrong. Why did people do this to themselves? Hide their true nature behind a collar of chastity and believe?

"You must be Ariel?" Her name pulled her out of her thoughts and back to the current situation. Hayley's smile looked like a painful grimace as she silently prompted her to answer and give her a reason to leave again.

"Yes, I am. Hayley wanted to show me around town."

"That will not take very long, I am afraid," he laughed, Hayley joined in, Ariel only huffed. Father Michael cleared his throat when he noticed that he had obviously hit a nerve and turned towards his affair. "Joel called me an hour ago asking how long it would take to set up an Uncollaring ceremony. I checked and you can tell him that I should be able to get everything I need within two weeks. That’s probably not enough to invite all of your friends, but at least you can give him the earliest possible date.”

Ariel was too shocked to actually reply. A real Uncollaring with Joel as her mate somehow till felt unreal. She would go home again soon and se this as the lesson in humbleness that it was. After today she would never look at Flint the same way.

Father Michael’s smile slowly turned strained as he turned towards Hayley again, “Uhm, will you come by later and pick up a hymnbook for her? I would also like to speak with you about something else."

How ominous, Ariel thought and fought hard not to roll her eyes at his behavior. He was a hound pretending to be a saint, meaning he owned little to no integrity in her eyes. Funny how "fallen ones" only ever referres to women when clearly, he had a much higher reputation to lose should people find out about their love child once Hayley wouldn't be able to hide her belly behind her handbag anymore.

"I'm pretty busy actually. I... I'll see if we can manage. Good bye, Father."

Hayley grabbed Ariel by the hand and pulled her down the street as fast as she could without making it look like they were running from the priest. Only when she was sure that he wouldn't follow her in front of everyone's eyes, she let go and apologized, "I'm sorry, sometimes you need an hour to get down the street when everyone wants to speak with you."

"Especially, Father Michael, I assume."

Hayley stared at her before she obviously decided that Ariel couldn't have found out just from a two minute conversation, and smiled again. "He's a good man."

And she was too good for him, Ariel decided and hoped that Hayley wouldn't end up thrown under the wagon when their secret could no longer be kept one. Sooner or later people would find out and if the baby looked even remotely like the priest there was no denying that they were fucked.

Hayey showed her the stores and most important places around town; townhall, the post office, the convenience store, and very shortly even the church, but only to pick up the hymnbook from the old lady leading the library that was just next door. Thankfully they didn't meet Father Michael again and Hayley was visibly relieved when they headed to Duke's diner to get the sandwiches for her brother's and their farm hands. Somehow they had talked about all and nothing in particular. Hayley had done most of the talking while Ariel asked herself if there was a hardware store nearby to buy some rope for a noose. 

"Would you like a sandwich as well?"

"No, I only just had breakfast-" Ariel looked at her watch. Wow, they had wasted almost the entire day in this town even though it was tiny compared to Flint. "uhm, I'll just have a milkshake with strawberries I think."

"Sure. It's the best in town, I promise."

"Well, as far as you told me, it's the only place in town selling them."

"So I wasn't lying," Hayley giggled and handed the dark-skinned man with greying temples a few dollar notes.

“When will you finally marry me, Hayley?” he asked and winked at Ariel. Alright, this was unexpected.

Hayley leaned over the bar and looked the elderly gentleman deep into his dark brown eyes. “When will you tell me the recipe for your honey crusted ham?”

“Never,” he said and let out a bellowing laughter.

“There you have your answer,” Hayley chuckled and grabbed the plastic wrapped sandwiched, "Have a nice day, Duke."

"You and your friend too, sweetheart!" he called after them as they made their way back out into the sunny streets. Ariel took a long sip of the milkshake, walking back to Hayley's car, and she had to admit that even for her standards this was an amazing milkshake. At least one good thing in this town.


	6. The Blue Ribbon

When Ariel came home, she heard noises coming from the kitchen. So somebody had entered the house, just like she had expected. Hayley was already on her way back to Bulter and she couldn't fight. What if the burglar had a weapon? Her heart  beat raced up into her throat, her breath turned into short gasps, until she smelt the rich scent in the air. Joel.

Her body immediately relaxed though her mind didn't really know why. He was as good as any rapist. She didn't know him or the reason why he was already home.

"Hello?" she called out and placed the bible and hymnbook on the small side table in the hallway. The noises from the kitchen died down except for steps coming closer. A second later Joel appeared in the doorway holding out a spoon with what looked like steaming hot tomato sauce on it.

"I feel like something is still missing. Maybe more vinegar?"

Too surprised to actually react, Ariel simply opened her mouth and tasted the offered spoon. She almost moaned out loud at the culinary explosion on her tongue. He was definitely a great cook!

"It's perfect," she replied eventually and wanted to dive in for another taste, but the spoon was already empty. It seemed since she had entered the realm of non-existent phone reception, her stomach had grown in size. She was suddenly starving. Her feet carried her into the kitchen on their own accord to see what he was cooking that required the most delicious tomato sauce she had ever had the pleasure to taste. It looked like pizza. The oven was already heating up, dough with tiny specks of herbs had already been turned into a thin disk only a smidge smaller than the baking tray it lay on and the mozzarella was wrapped in a piece of cloth to get rid of the unnecessary moisture. Wasn't he just a farmer?

"I see you've met Father Michael," he said, his eyes glued to the hymnbook while he followed her into the kitchen.

"Uhm, yes. He actually asked about the ceremony. I didn't know that you actually meant a real marriage yesterday."

"I asked you to marry me, what did you think? But I didn't talk to him yet. He must've assumed it was just the natural flow of the things," Joel said, sounding like he was in a very good mood, offering her another spoonful of the sauce. This time Ariel moaned out her culinary pleasure. She could bathe in that, so delicious.

"Why are you home already? I thought you were working late. Hayley is heading to the farm right now to bring you, Kyle and the others some roast beef sandwiches."

"I invited the family to come around for pizza this afternoon, so you can get to know them in one go."

But didn't she already know at east two thirds of his family?

"My uncle is coming too."

"And that's why you are already cooking?"

"The sauce needs to reduce before I can put it on the dough which is resting before I put it all together." Joel wiped his hands clean on a kitchen towel and suddenly seemed a little nervous. "I... I'm still waiting for your answer to my proposal."

Oh, yes. She had almost forgotten about that. Ariel dropped her gaze to the tips of her shoes and it down on her lower lip. "Why do you want to marry me?"

"Because that's the proper way, isn't it? Buying the guardianship and then marrying."

"Uncollaring," she corrected him, again.

"Then uncollaring," Joel growled and crossed his arms over his broad chest with his eye darkening, "But you still haven't answered the question."

"Well, if you ask me so nicely how could I say no?" Ariel copied his body language and glared at him. 

 

* * *

 

 

Why was she so fucking difficult when all he wanted was a simple yes-or-no-answer? He let out a deep sigh and buried his hand in his front jeans pocket to check for the ribbon inside. 

"Listen, I don't wanna fight. I just want to know if I should tell Father Michael to make an appointment or not. And if I should give this to you now or after the wedd- uncollaring."

Her thin eyebrows knit together in confusion as he pulled the light blue ribbon out. Obviously she didn't know its meaning, but she was wearing a collar, so chances were good that she would get it without much explaining.

"My family comes from Scotland, hence the surname, and they brought a little local tradition with them. Alphas gift their mates a blue ribbon they are supposed to wear for a certain period of time. Much like a collar, only that you are the only one allowed to take it off."

"And I'm supposed to wear it as what? A second collar, because I haven't allowed you to take mine off yet," Ariel said and crossed her arms over her chest with an arched eyebrow.

"You can wear it as a collar, bracelet, bow in your hair, as long as you wear it."

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth and chewed on it for a moment, looking into the void as she thought about her next words. "And what if I don't wear it?"

Joel squared his shoulders and had hoped she would simply say yes, name him a date when he would uncollar her, and they could actually start the life as a real couple, not just two strangers who happened to live in the same house. "Then I would be very disappointed since it's a family tradition and we are supposed to be a family."

He pushed himself off the counter and stuffed the ribbon back into his pocket before turning back around to check on the sauce. A few seconds later he heard her steps getting more and more distant until she eventually climbed the stairs, leaving behind a slight hint of sadness in the air. Great, now he felt sorry for talking with her, well not at much talking, but apparently saying the wrong things.

Joel shook off the guilt and told himself that he had reached a hand out to make her part of his world. That was more than she had done this far. They hadn't had a single conversation without one of them snapping. Part of him said that they were just too much alike and that they needed time before the constant headbudding would stop, but the other part wondered if it was worth the effort. He hadn't lived bad so far being single with a regular affair. Sometimes he felt a little alone with his thoughts but work soon occupied him enough to be too exhausted to care. 

"I would like to wait until we know each other better," he suddenly heard behind him and turned around with a raised eyebrow. Ariel kneaded her hands in front of her, the air around her simmering with nervousness. What was she so nervous or anxious about? Did she think he would snap or become angry because she wanted to wait before she tied herself to a stranger? Hell, he would be disappointed in her if she accepted him with wide arms right from the start.

"Okay." It was all he could really say to that. With increasing curiosity Joel watched her close the distance between them and hold out her hand, waiting. It took him a second before he realized that she wanted the ribbon. "I'll have to tie it the first time."

Her eyes flicked up to meet his, but she didn't say anything, only turned her hand around and offered him her wrist to tie the ribbon around. Fitting, since the lesser potent scent glands were placed there and so he could mingle their scents gently instead of forcing it around her neck or into her hair right from the start. Joel pulled out the ribbon again and placed it carefully around her slender pulse point. Her breath hitched at the soft contact, but she said nothing. In fact none of them made a single sound at the almost intimate moment stretched on. Joel hdad never thought he would tie a woman to him, but here he was doing a simple bow around a girl's wrist who was the same age as his baby brother. But that's how it was meant to be, how his father had made the deal while Ariel had still been in school.

"There," he whispered when he was done.

Ariel stared down at the wanky bow and the way the ribbon slightly dug into her skin.

"You said I could take it off again any time I wanted."

"Yes, but you'll have to wear it when other people are around. It's a sign that you are not available anymore." Not that there was a single soul in Bulter who didn't know about her and who she belonged to, but he wanted to honor the tradition anyway.

"How long do I have to wear it in public then?"

Until she had accepted him in her bed, he thought but before he could come up with an answer that didn't sound like he was just after her pussy, he was saved by the door bell.

 

* * *

 

Joel opened the door while Ariel just stared down at her wrist. She could still feel where he had touched her soft skin. She had needed all of her self control to stay still. He wasn't bad looking, mean or rude... this far, but he was was a strange Alpha. Ariel couldn't fathom how other Omegas could ignore that fact so freely and allow their Alphas to claim and breed them immediately after meeting them. Maybe something was wrong with her because she couldn't trust him right off the bat.

Ariel's thoughts were interrupted by a wave of unfamilar scents, Alpha scents, flooding the air. The tiny hairs at her neck stood to end as she turned around and instinctively moved backwards to bring more distance between her and the strangers entering the house. Distance meant more time to run away if necessary.

The older man stepping into the kitchen looked vaguely familiar, but Ariel's brain was too deep in alert mode to remember where she had seen him before.

"Joel, your mate is scared!" he barked over his shoulder and made his way into the dining room without as much as glancing at Ariel a second time. A sun burnt, light blonde man who looked just like Joel only as a smaller Beta entered the kitchen as well and made the same "tip the hat" greeting gresture as Joel and Kyle had the first day she had seen them in her home. David, it shot through her mind. This had to be the oldest brother... and the old Alpha was their uncle. She had seen him with her father.

Joel pushed Kyle out of the way, his eyes portraying concern that slowly grew stronger the closer he got to her.

"What's the matter?" he whispered low enough that none of the others could hear them. Joel reached out his hand to touch her shoulder, but Ariel quickly stepped back, feeling everyone's eyes on her all of the sudden.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I was out the whole day. I'll need to freshen up a bit before I join you at the table," she said, hurried out of the kitchen, squeezing past Kyle without touching him, and ran up the stairs to get away from all those strangers.

She took a deep breath as soon as she had shut the door to her room behind her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on calming down. They wouldn't hurt her, she told herself, but at the same time her internal voice snorted that she couldn't know that for sure. But she had to believe in their decency to make her feet move. Ariel walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out a fresh shirt. The smell of her sweat from the warm summer day, and her slight panic downstairs clung to the fabric. She couldn't go back downstairs like that. His uncle had already commented on her, basically saying that she stank. Ariel avoided the look in the mirror when she was ready to go down again. The last thing she needed was to see her frightened eyes when it was of utmost importance that she could lie to herself, saying she looked as confident as the Trozensky student she was. None of the people downstairs could even dream of the intelectual abilities she had at the tender age of eighteen.

So with all the willpower she could scrape together around her fluttering heart, Ariel descended the stairs again and heard loud argueing from the dining room. Roaring voices, deep and vibrating, turning lower as her feet made quiet padding noises on the hardwood floors. The air smellt primarily of the amazing tomato sauce and dried oregano, but she could also smell anger and frustration. Not a good combination to lure her to enter a room full of strangers.

Carefully and fiddling with the ribbon around her wrist, she rounded the corner, peering into the dining room, and saw Joel and his uncle glare at each other until the younger one backed down and stood up. Whatever was going on between them Joel was the submissive one and that scared Ariel on a whole different level. What if the his uncle challenged him over her? Would he back down then as well?


End file.
